Diversity includes English

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Should the Ashes be on SBS Television? No, according to
Ross Warneke. He says it is an "English gentleman's game" and it
doesn't belong on the multicultural channel (GG, July
21).

Apparently, because the Ashes is between two English-speaking
nations - currently the two best cricket nations in the world - the
sort of cricket they play is of no interest to any Australian who
has ethnic ties to the Test cricket-playing nations of Bangladesh,
India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies
or Zimbabwe.

Or, for that matter, anyone else who comes from those 27 other
countries that are associate members of the International Cricket
Council.

Mr Warneke says it's OK to watch the Tour de France, though. Not
only is it in France, but the advertising hoardings along the route
are in French.

Soccer? Well, Mr Warneke gives SBS the green light to show
soccer because most of the teams are from non-English speaking
nations. Just as well SBS no longer has broadcast rights to the
most popular televised soccer fixture in the world, the English
Premier League.

Other SBS programming attracted the ire of the Green Guide
columnist. He chastised SBS for broadcasting British documentaries,
American series, indigenous dramas and an Australian-made comedy.
One program, a German movie, was described as a "token gesture" to
the SBS Charter.

To be fair, Mr Warneke is not alone in holding such views, but
I'm still left puzzled and bemused.

Puzzled because where in the charter does it say that "foreign
language" programs must dominate the SBS schedule? And I'm bemused
because critics constantly pass judgement on what they would like
SBS to do, rather than what it's mandated to do.

The charter says that SBS's multicultural and multilingual
programming is to "inform, educate and entertain all Australians
and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society".

It means broadcasting to Australian audiences the best, most
diverse and culturally representative programs from around the
world, coupled with a wide variety of locally produced programs
that reflect Australia's cultural diversity.

It would be a huge disservice to Australian audiences and an
abrogation of our charter obligations if SBS did not produce or
commission a wide range of documentaries, dramas, comedies and
other programs that told the stories and exposed the characters of
multicultural Australia.

Over the past 11 years, SBS Independent has commissioned more
than 750 hours of independent film and television productions,
including the Academy Award winning claymation Harvie
Krumpet, the controversial documentary The President vs
David Hicks, the cutting-edge comedy series John Safran vs
God, the "living history" series The Colony, and the
multi-award-winning film Somersault. It's a catalogue of
diverse, compelling programs that speak to all Australians.

In an important addition to our schedule, SBS has set aside two
regular weekday prime-time slots for Australian documentaries.

Over the past year, 25 one-hour episodes of Storyline
Australia and 27 half-hour episodes of Inside
Australia have focused on the issues, events and personal
stories unique to multicultural Australia.

Audiences for those particular time slots have regularly doubled
or tripled, proving that quality Australian programming is a
ratings winner.

I'm at a loss to understand why some critics believe that
"multicultural" means programs that come from all countries of the
world except the ones that speak English.

I can't say whether SBS is "too ethnic" or "too Anglo", but what
I can say is that SBS programming is inclusive and representative
of our cultural diversity and it's chosen, commissioned and
broadcast for its quality and relevance, not to meet any particular
language, cultural or ethnic quota.

SBS can never hope to cover events within each and every
language community, but it can cover issues that resonate across
all communities. It can provide the broadest programming to the
widest possible audience, and often that can best be done through
the nation's common language, English.

To criticise SBS for showing too many English language
documentaries in prime time is to miss the point. It's the message
that's important, not the language in which the message is
delivered.

SBS viewers want to be enlightened about world affairs, informed
about international cultural events and issues, and entertained by
quality films, but they also want to see on SBS the unique stories
and the personalities that make up multicultural Australia.